Tom Kim steals the show with his emotion and big putts on the penultimate day of the Presidents Cup

The Americans have a juggernaut in Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas that brought them closer to another Presidents Cup victory on Saturday.

The international team has a spark plug in 20-year-old Tom Kim, who delivered the emotion and big putts that made it clear that the Americans will have to work for it.

The day started with the Americans having a mathematical chance to take the cup. It finished with an 11-7 lead, with 12 more singles on Sunday.

Spieth and Thomas became only the second American partnership to win all four team games in the Presidents Cup, handily winning their foursomes game in the morning and their fourballs game in the afternoon.

The Internationals split the morning games and the way this Presidents Cup went for them, not losing ground, felt like a win.

And then it got better.

The putt fell in the cup and Kim won his match against Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele

They rallied in the final hour in two games to turn deficits into 1-up wins, taking the afternoon session winning by winning three out of four games.

The star was Kim, the youngest player at Quail Hollow and arguably the biggest personality. He kicked off the comeback with a 55-foot eagle putt on the par-4 11th hole against Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele.

They all went square to the last, Si Woo Kim was already out of the hole and Tom Kim faced a 10-foot birdie putt for the win. He took a few steps back as the ball approached the hole, dropped his putter and slammed his cap to the ground in a boisterous feast.

“I wanted that putt more than anything in the world,” Kim said.

Cam Davis (L) and Adam Scott (R) won their match to give the Internationals another point

Moments later, Adam Scott and Cameron Davis moved from 1 down with three holes left when Davis made a 12-foot eagle putt on the 16th and a 15-foot birdie putt on the 17th hole to go up 1.

On the final hole, Sam Burns hit his approach to four feet, giving him and Billy Horschel a chance to earn half. And then Davis birdied 3 yards for another run.

Every point is big for the international team, already exhausted from four players who left the PGA Tour for Saudi-funded LIV, and already dealing with eight consecutive cup losses.

The Americans still have a lot of control, needing just four wins and a half from their 12 singles matches in the final session.

Spieth and Thomas have taken the lead. The only other American tandem in a Presidents Cup to win 4-0 was Tiger Woods and Steve Stricker at Harding Park in 2009. The Internationals had Louis Oosthuizen and Branden Grace do the same in South Korea in 2015.

Thomas and Spieth have been close friends for 15 years, dating junior golf and international outings. This is the first time in a Presidents Cup that they have been paired up, and both are on their game. It’s a deadly combination.

Still, the end of the games gave Spieth a break.

“We have to get the job done tomorrow and win two more points for our team,” Spieth said. “I would love to win a single, and I know Justin would too. We’ll be close enough where our two would clearly be extremely important.”

Justin Thomas (L) and Jordan Spieth (R) lead 4-0 in their matches going into the final day

Kim won both of his matches Saturday, along with KH Lee in the morning foursome to beat Burns and Masters champion Scottie Scheffler, 2 and 1.

Scott plays in his 10th team – eight losses and one draw – and was eliminated until he and Hideki Matsuyama defeated Collin Morikawa and Cameron Young in the morning, and Scott and Davis proved to be a great Australian duo in the afternoon.

“Any win against the US team has to be fought very hard,” said Scott. “So this feels good.”

Max Homa is still having the week of his life. After his belated exploits the night before, he teamed up with Tony Finau in a 4-and-3 win over Si Woo Kim and Davis. Homa sat outside for the afternoon session. He is 3-0 on his debut in a cup.

Schauffele and Cantlay lost for the first time in three matches this week. They were 2 ahead after 10 holes and 3 under the rest of the way, with Schauffele making a 40 foot birdie putt from the 15th green for a 1-up lead that looked like it would take them to another point.

Instead, Si Woo Kim made a 1.2-meter birdie putt to straighten the game on the 16th, and a 1.5-meter par putt to even the game on the 17th. Tom Kim was so nervous he covered his eyes and spiked through his fingers, pumping his fist as the putt dropped.

And then the 20-year-old Korean had the podium to himself at the end and delivered a winner. It remains to be seen what one putt – one point – can do for an international team still four points behind to overcome.

Kim’s putt gave life to the international team and reduced their deficit to just 8.5 points